Edenbridge and Aylesford Festivals
Medway RFC U9's The Knights 26/4/09.
The Knights devided their number into 2 mixed squads for the Edenbridge and Aylesford festivals.
At Edenbridge the boys were drawn in a group that would have given any A
squad a cause for concern let alone a mixed team, that said the team
played extremly well in all their matches and were unlucky not to have
faired better with the results. They met the evential group winners
Worthing in the first game and but for being caught cold with 2 early
tries there was nothing between the teams. Their second and third games
saw the Knights at their best with awesome tackling, rucking and running
performances from all the lads. Both games ending in 1 - 1 draws against
Tonbridge Juddians A and Old Elthamians A. Scorers for the Knights were
Josh Lamb against TJ's finishing the move after a great run from Sam
Crean and Kyle Struthers against Old E's who ran half the pitch after
breaking a tackle in the centre. As good as the previous performances
were the lads were desperate for that ellusive win. In the next match
against Sevenoaks with the scores tied at a try a piece at half time
(another long range try from Struthers) they came agonisingly close on a
number of occasions to going over and securing the win before Sevenoaks
rapped the game up a break away try of their own in the dying seconds.
The final game for the Knights was against Bromley and as brave and
committed as the boys were they simply ran out of steam in the second
half. The eventual score was 5 - 2 to Bromley after being level at half
time with tries from Sam Crean and Kyle Struthers.
The Edenbridge squad was: Lewis Hollidge, Sam Crean, Kyle Struther, James Queay, Jamie Wyndham, William Milham, Harry Meadows, Aiden Wolfe, Alfie Pattenden, Josh Lamb, Oscar Wells and Rhys Johnson.
The hot weather and large pitch both played their part in the fortunes
of the Knight's at the Aylesford Festival. In their first match against
Aylesford B, the Knights took full advantage of the wide pitch, with
fine tackling and a determined front row recycling the ball well, quick
ball from scrum half's Ethan Green (1st half) and Amun Bains (2nd half)
gave fly half Jack Bloomfield's plenty of ammunition to free the backs
and his excellent distribution and evasive running created a host of
opportunities and 4 first half tries, the first from Jack Bloomfield off
the first pass of the day, an opportunist try from Tom Narborough from
close in and two excellent runs from Christopher Jarvis, in the second
half 3 further scores were ran home from Christopher Jarvis and a brace
from the impressive speed and agility of wing Toby Robson, final score
7-1. The downside to their 7 try haul in the first match was that they
had to play again immediately against a very able, powerful and more
importantly fresh, Sidcup. from the early exchanges Sidcup were keen to
stay on their feet whenever possible and maul the ball down the pitch,
trying to keep the large Sidcup pack at bay swiftly sapped what little
energy the Medway lads had left following their endeavours against
Aylesford, meaning Sidcup grew stronger as Medway weakened, with 
Sidcup
running out 5-0 winners. Medway then had a 3 match wait to regroup and
recharge their batteries before their final group game against
Cranbrook, rejuvenated the Knights were back in form, great tackling
from Jacob Clayton at centre, and wingers Jean Luc and Jean Pascal
Carden coupled with dogged determination at the breakdown from the
forwards especially Oliver Rees ensured plenty of ball for Medway's
elusive runners, Medway ran in 7 fine tries through Jack Bloomfield (2)
Christopher Jarvis (2) and an awesome hat-trick for Toby Robson. The
Plate Final was a close match between two determined and well matched
sides, Medway struck first and were never behind after going ahead
through another blistering run from Jack Bloomfield, Sittingbourne soon
hit back just before half time with a fine passing move across their
backs to go over in the corner. Jack Bloomfield restored the advantage
only for Sittingbourne to hit straight back and level once again, solid
defensive work from both Sittingbourne and in particular for Medway Alex
Harris and Reuben Murdoch North, meant the game looked to be heading for
a draw, until quick hands from Jack Bloomfield freed the ever impressive
Toby Robson to split the Sittingbourne defence and sprint home the
winning try, topping a fine mornings rugby and a great finish to the
season for Medway.
The Aylesford squad was: Tom Narborough, Jack Bloomfield, Christopher
Jarvis, Oliver Rees, Jean Luc Carden, Jean Pascal Carden, Jacob Clayton,
Amun Bains, Toby Robson, Alex Harris, Ethan Green, Reuben Murdoch-North
Westcombe Park Festival
At the Westcombe Park Festival, Medway just missed out on a semi final place after finishing third in a closely contested group.
A strong defensive display was required and delivered by Medway in their first match against a very able Westcombe Park side, a host of crunching tackles from in particular Sam Crean, Joshua Lamb and Christopher Jarvis and swift response from the Medway's forwards produced a lot of turnovers and kept the Westcombe Park attack at bay, in attack Westcombe Park returned the compliment foiling the majority of Medways attacks until Joshua Lamb managed to break free to score the gamed only try and secure a slender win.
In the first half against Old Colf's Medway's were unable to boss the game in the way they had against Westcombe Park, a big Colf's attack saw a lot of the ball pinning back the Medway defence for much of the half and their pressure was rewarded with a try half way through the half, Medway responded well and a determined run from Sam Crean saw him go over to level the score on the stroke of half time. The second half was almost a carbon copy of the first, with Old Colf's taking the lead when their player broke through 3 tackles to score, Medway dug in and pinned back the Old Colf's defence and with full time fast approaching an excellent run from Chris Jarvis levelled the match and earned a draw.
Against Beckenham Medway scored two fine tries in the first half, Sam Crean with a fine solo effort spinning off the back of the scrum to score in the corner, then a fine move finishing with a well timed pass for Josh Lamb to add a second before half time. In the second half Beckenham responded well and pulled a score back with the first score of the second half. From the very next attack fly half Harry Meadows moved the ball out ro centre Jack Bloomfield who took full advantage of the space out wide and outpaced the Beckenham defence to restore Medway's 2 try advantage. A determined Beckenham continued to pressure the Medway defence and finally got their reward with a late score, but Medway ran home 3-2.
In their final match of the morning Medway faced Kent Champions Canterbury requiring a draw to progress to the semi final stages. In a closer contest then the 2-0 scoreline suggests, Medway threw everything at the Canterbury defence but were unable to break through and two first half scores from Canterbury were wnough to secure them victory.
Although the Knights were unable to progress to the latter stages of this particular Festival, we were all treated to a fine mornings rugby with every player showing great determination and team spirit, making all the coaches and parents very proud.
WELL DONE LADS!
Please can you also add below the text........Medway U9's: Lewis Hollidge, Ethan Green, Oscar Wells, Tom Narborough,Jack Bloomfield, Karl O'Grady, Harry Meadows, Sam Crean, Joshua Lamb, Christopher Jarvis, Jacob Clayton
U9 A Team Shield Winners
Medway U9's A Team, realised their potential by storming their way to victory in the Shield Competition. Pitted against Folkestone in the semi-final they quickly piled on 5 tries in the first half. Two scores apiece from fly-half Jack Bloomfield and winger Mattias Cardin, and one for the ever probing scrum-half Sam Crean created the platform for some glittering rugby in the second half. Fantastic rucking and driving, especially from Jacob Clayton and Oscar Wells, together with quick ball from the breakdown saw Bloomfield get his hat-trick, and a brace from Christopher Jarvis secured an 8-0 win over the South Coast team. Karl O’Grady, Harry Meadows, and Oliver Rees put in some huge tackles to regain the ball and helped create this fantastic score.
The final was a different affair as a well drilled Thanet Wanderers stung Medway into action by scoring the first try. From then on Medway turned the screw as they played their best rugby of the season. First to every ball and driven on relentlessly by hooker Lewis Hollidge, the forwards Tom Narborough and Oscar Wells won almost every ball to secure a firm platform in order for fly-half Josh Lamb to run in two tries for a 2-1 lead at half time. The second half was a game of attrition as Medway doubled their tackle count in order to suppress the spirited fight back from Thanet. The eventual score of 7-1 did not fully represent how hard their opponents fought for the trophy, but did show how well the A’s dealt with the threat. Two further tries from Lamb, another two from Crean, and one from Hollidge put the game beyond doubt. This was the A’s finest moment as every player finally clicked and put into practice their training and coaching from the past season. As well as it being an awesome team display, every player, without exception, put in their ‘personal best’ of the season be it tackling, rucking/driving, supporting and finally the ‘P’ word – passing! It is impossible to single out any player as man of the match, as the team played as one unit to gain this silverware.
B Team at Upminster Festival
The Medway Knights send a severely depleted but highly determined B team to the Upminster B Festival. Due to illness, holidays and the late notice only 7 boys made it to Upminster, 9 a side is needed at U9 level so borrowed players and a couple of 7 a side games were the order of the day. The boys played 5 matches in total and to a man gave their all in every game. In the first 3 games 2 players were borrowed from the opposition or host club Upminster and it must be said all the players borrowed performed really well. Despite the good performance of the borrowed players and the huge efforts of the Medway players, it really was just two much disruption for the team. All of the first 3 results went against Medway losing 3 tries to 2 against Chelmsford, 5 to 0 against Hertford and 2 to 0 against Upminster. Despite the disappointing start the boys heads never dropped and in the last 2 games due to lack of players to borrow, 7 a side rugby was played. Having just their own players in the team steeled the boys into producing their performance of the day in a 4 tries to 1 win over Rochford. Next up for the 7 a side specialists were Eton, again a massive performance from the Knights but with fatigue setting in and a big size advantage to Eton, the boys they eventually went down 2 tries to nil.
As an immensely proud coach I could spend all day writing about what each boy brought to the day But time and space are both against me so I will name the squad with a brief note on each player: Kyle Struthers (scored 5 of the Knights 6 tries and made just as many try saving tackles), Jamie Wyndham (made good ground with direct running and had the awareness to give try scoring pass), James Queay (excellent rucking against Rochford and as hooker at the line out managed to throw directly to the fly half and get away with it twice!), Brothers Jean Luc and Jean Pascal Carden (without the superb tackling performances they both showed in the first 3 matches the scores would have been much higher against the Knights), Aiden Wolfe (as scrumhalf he gave good fast service to the backs and made good ground going forward himself) and last but not least Rhys Johnson (had the highest tackle count and scored the teams remaining try after good support play).
7 exhausted, bruised but happy players. 1 proud and happy coach. 1 set of proud and happy supporters / parents. 1 great day.
Kent Festival
Medway's U9's Knights fielded two teams at the Kent Festival Qualifiers.
In their first group game Tunbridge Wells were swiftly out of the blocks against Medway's A's, putting Medway on their back foot for much of the game, a try in the first half and 2 in the second gave them a 3-0 win. It was a much closer encounter in match two against Maidstone but once again Medway went behind in the first half, before Lewis Hollidge's well timed pass released Joshua Lamb to score in the corner, unfortunately for Medway a further try without reply in the seond half gave Maidstone a 2-1 victory. The A's final group game against Tonbridge Juddians, was a fine game with both sides totally commited and determined throughout. Tonbridge took the lead when a pass was intercepted 5 yards out, great awareness from Lewis Hollidge returned the favour minutes later to level the game. In the second half spoils were shared when Joshua Lamb cancelled out Tonbridge's second try, before making two consecutive try saving tackles in the last minute on his own 
try line. With both TJ's and Medway tied in third place in the table a coin flip was required to decide Medway's and Tonbridge's fate and their opponents for the Quarter Final. Tonbridge won the flip which meant a Shield Quarter Final for the A's against Gravesend. Medway saved their best performance till last, moving the ball around well and scoring two fine first half try's through Lewis Hollidge and Sam Crean before Gravesend pulled a try back just before half time. In the second half Jacob Clayton finished another good move for Medway, securing a 3-1 win and a Semi Final place against Folkestone. Medway: Jacob Clayton, Oliver Rees, Harry Meadows, Joshua Lamb, Christopher Jarvis, Karl O'Grady, Jack Bloomfield, Sam Crean, Oscar Wells, Lewis Hollidge, Mattias Carden and Tom Narborough
In spite of being drawn in a tough group Medway B's showed great determination, team spirit and played 
some fine rugby, doing themselves and their club proud. In their first match on a sloping pitch Sevenoaks took advantage of the slight hill and ran in two early tries, Medway then dug in and defended gamely with James Queay and Toby Robson putting in excellent tackles In the second half Medway put in a very solid defencive performance with several big tackles coming in from Ethan Green, Kyle Stuthers and Reuben Murdoch-North, with the slight advantage of the hill Medway pushed forward but were unfortunately unable to break through a solid Sevenoaks defence. In their next game Sittingbourne played well in the first half running in three tries to Medway's one scored by Ethan Green before half time. There were no further scores in the second half due to Medway's fine defencive line holding firm against an able Sittingbourne attack, although Medway pressed forward at every opportunity pinning the Sittingbourne defence back for much of the half they were 
unable to add to the scoreline. In a higher scoring final group game Medway's two fine first half tries ran in by Toby Robson and Rhys Johnson were cancelled out by the Aylesford attack and in the second half three tries from Aylesford secured a 5-2 win. In their Shield Quarter Final, Medway's opponents Thanet started strongly, running home two first half scores without reply. In the second half Medway played some great rugby and pulled a try back through Kyle Struthers run, with a solid defencive line and big tackles coming in from James Queay, Alex Harris and Rhy's Johnson, Medway kept the Thanet attack down to just one more try, final score 3-1. Medway: Rhys Johnson, Jamie Wyndham, James Queay, Ethan Green, Toby Robson, Aidan Wolfe, Reuben Murdoch-North, Amun Bains, William Milham, Alex Harris, Kyle Struthers, Jean Luc Carden and Jean Pascal Carden
Old Colfeians Festival
Medway's U9 Knight's, A and B teams both enjoyed a successful day out at the Old Colfiens Festival, winning their respective Shield competitions.
In the B's competition Medway had three group matches, their first against Old Alleynians was a close encounter with neither side being able to break through in the first half, in the second half Alleynians came out the stronger running home three tries, before Rhys Johnson scored a fine consolation try for the Knights. In match two Medway faced the future cup winners Blackheath, in spite of dogged defending by Ethan Green and Reuben Murdoch-North in particular, Blackheath powered through to a 4-0 victory. In their final group game against Dartfordians the Knights were quickly into their stride, with excellent tries from Reuben Murdoch-North, Alex Harris and Ethan Green giving them a 3-1 lead at half time, although Datfordians crossed the line once more in the second half Aidan Wolfe secured a 4-1 win. Medway saved their best performance of the morning for the Shield Final against their hosts Old Colfiens, first half tries from Toby Robson, Jamie Wyndham and Rhys Johnson, gave them a slight 3-2 first half lead, from then on the Knight's moved the ball around very well creating a host of chances for themselves and running home three great tries from Toby Robson and Ethan Green (2) to secure a 6-2 win. Medway Knights: Ethan Green, Alex Harris, Toby Robson, Aidan Wolfe, Oliver Rees, Rhys Johnson, Jamie Wyndham, James Queay, Reuben Murdoch-North.
The A's also had three group games first up were Westcombe Park, in a tight match, Medway were encamped in their half for long periods but were unable to get over the line, a second half try from Westcombe Park gave them a narrow 1-0 victory. In a tough second match the Knights locked horns with the future cup winners Beccehamians, once again the Knight were narrowly defeated by a well drilled side in spite of some snsational defencive work especially from Oscar Wells and Christopher Jarvis, and a great try from Sammie Crean, Beccs edged the game 2-1. In their final group game against the future plate winners Blackheath, the Knights put in a very solid performance, against an equally dogged Blackheath who finally broke the deadlock early in the second half. In the very next play an extremely determined Joshua Lamb blasted through the Blackheath defence to score the second and last try of the game which finished 1 a piece. In the Semi Final of the Shield the Knight's were in control from the start against Gravesend, running home 5 tries without reply from Lewis Hollidge, Joshua Lamb, Sammie Crean, Jacob Clayton and Jack Bloomfield. Beckenham were the opponents for Medway in the Shield Final, a very solid defensive perfpormance and some great passing through the backs led to four scores for the Knight from, Sammie Crean, Joshua Lamb and a brace for Christopher Jarvis, final score 4-0. Medway Knights: Jack Bloomfield, Sammie Crean, Tom Narborough, Lewis Hollidge, Jacob Clayton, Oscar Wells, Karl O'Grady, Harry Meadows, Joshua Lamb, Christopher Jarvis
Well done to the whole squad on a great morning rugby!!!!
Medway v Old Alleynians
Medway U9's The Knights had a pleasant trip to Dulwich for a structured development day at hosts Old Alleynians. After a well organised joint training session focusing on rucking and the contact area they played a couple of short duration games putting into practise what was learnt.
Medway fielded both A and B teams and both produced great performances against their well drilled and strong hosts in the 4 games played.
The A team met the hosts two stronger teams and right from the off started putting in the strong low tackles which has been their biggest asset all season. The pressure from the tackling soon told and after a knock on from one such tackle Medway scored directly from the resulting scrum. With the scrum in the centre of the pitch on the oppositions 22 it was quickly fed to fly half Mattias Carden who drew in the home defence and timed a great pass to wing Josh Lamb who showed a great turn of pace to sprint outside his opposite number for a score in the corner. Both teams then cancelled each other out with great defensive play until a sustained spell of pressure from Medway towards the end of the second half saw a few chances created. Prop Tom Narborough came within inches of scoring, just knocking on in contact on the try line. Another chance went begging when great home defence held the ball up over their own line. Eventually something had to give and after a quickly taken free kick wing Josh Lamb was able to break through two tackles to again go over in the corner. The A's second game was against even tougher opposition and Medway were on the defensive right from the start. The home side were proving too strong up front for Medway and winning nearly all the loose balls and rucks. With all this possession and great offloading Old Alleynians had soon built a 2 try lead. Had it not been for some heroic tackling from the whole team, especially Karl O'Grady and Sam Crean the score could have been a lot worse at half time. The second half was more even upfront although the home side still had the majority of possession and this could be seen in the tackle count from Medway which more than doubled from the first half and again like the first game this proved to be the deciding factor. Josh Lamb went over for his 3rd try of the day and supplied the perfectly timed pass for hooker Lewis Hollidge to go over in the corner for the equaliser. Even after levelling the game Medway still had to work hard in defence with every player making countless tackles including try saving tackles from fly half Mattias Carden stopping the winger escaping and Lewis Hollidge making a last ditch one on one tackle with their player through and heading for the line. All in all a draw was a fair result in a very hard but good tempered and high quality game.
Medway A's were: Tom Narborough, Lewis Hollidge, Oscar Wells, Sam Crean, Mattias Carden, Christopher Jarvis, Karl O'Grady, Jacob Clayton, Josh Lamb.
The Medway B team took on two Old Alleynians teams on Sunday, drawing their first game 2 all and winning their second game 5 tries to 1. In the first game Medway ran in two tries in the first half through some excellent passing and support play. The try scorers were Will Milham and Kyle Struthers both with some great running. Old Alleynians scored a try in the first half and then managed to equalise in a slightly shortened second half. Some well-timed tackling kept the score line down with tackles coming from Alex Harris, James Queay and Jean-Luc Carden. In the second game, Medway showed some great skill with their rucking with Jamie Wyndham, James Queay and Rhys Johnson proving to be a real powerhouse of a scrum. With Alex Harris as scrum half and Will Milham as fly half Medway were able to use a lot of ball and tries were scored by Will Milham, Tom Underdown, and Kyle Struthers scoring three. In the second game Medway continued to tackle hard with some big hits coming from Jamie Wyndham, James Queay, Will Milham, Kyle Struthers and Jean-Pascal Carden. An excellent day out for the B team.
Medway B's were: Jamie Wyndham, James Queay, Rhys Johnson, Alex Harris, Will Milham, Kyle Struthers, Tom Underdown, Jean-Luc Carden and Jean-Pascal Carden.
Medway v Sittingbourne
Medway’s U9s enjoyed a fine morning’s rugby with their hosts Sittingbourne RFC, four strongly contested matches followed an hours training, the first 2 matches paired the A’s and B’s, then after a mix up of the two squads two further matches were played.
The A’s match was a close affair, Medway took an early lead with their first attack Christopher Jarvis received the ball from fly half Jack Bloomfield and weaved his way through the Sittingbourne defence to score. Sittingbourne responded well and levelled the match soon after. Medway were straight back into attack and were unlucky not to retake the lead when a Tom Narborough try was cancelled out for a double movement. A few moments later Medway did retake the lead, as Sittingbourne tried to clear their lines, Oscar Wells blocked the run, ripped the ball and fed Tom Narborough to score. In the second half Sittingbourne’s attack pinned back the Medway defence for long periods and in spite of dogged defending and a cracking try saving tackle from Sam Crean Sittingbourne levelled once again. The decider however came a few minutes later via an excellent solo run from deep in his own half from Sam Crean.
The B’s match saw Medway put in a strong all round performance, Kyle Struthers opened the scoring with a good run into the corner, Sittingbourne levelled soon after when the Medway defence was caught napping, Medway came back strongly with two successive try’s, the first came from a turnover, when hooker Ethan Green won the ball and fed Karl O’Grady, showing great strength he broke through two tackles to score in the corner, soon after a fine tackle from Jamie Wyndham saw the ball break free, Toby Robson was first to react and his turn of speed was too hot to handle for the Sittingbourne defence, Sittingbourne came back again and pulled back a try in the next attack, then just before half time Medway got the ball out wide to wing Alex Harris who took his chance well outpacing the last man and scoring in the corner. At the start of the second half Sittingbourne broke through once again and closed the gap to one try. From the resulting restart fly half Toby Robson collected a pass and punished a gap in the Sittingbourne defence to score. William Milham rounded off a fine performance at scrum half scoring the last try of the game securing a 6:3 win.
In the first of the mixed matches, Medway started well when scrum half Ethan Green rolled off the back of the pack to drive over and score, Sittingbourne came back strongly levelling the match and then taking the lead just before half time. In the second half Sittingbourne pushed forward once again, adding two further scores before a fine solo run from fly half Oscar Wells rounded off the match 2-4. On the other pitch Medway moved the ball about well and scored 4 fine tries to Sittinbourne’s one, Oliver Rees had a good run early on and popped the ball out well for Christopher Jarvis to score Medway’s first, soon after Christopher Jarvis added his and Medway’s second before perhaps the pick of the bunch came when Lewis Hollidge broke free with one man to beat and the line beckoning, he spotted the run of his team mate Sam Crean drew in the last man and fed a great pass out for Sam Crean to score, equally fine was Jamie Wyndham’s run in which he carried the ball and a Sittingbourne player through much of the Sittingbourne half before freeing Amun Bains on the line to score Medway’s 4th.
In short it was a very entertaining morning’s rugby with both sides showing what a credit they are to their clubs.
Medway’s squad: Jack Bloomfield, Lewis Hollidge, Alex Harris, Jacob Clayton, Owen Anderson, Tom Narborough, Harry Meadows, Karl O’Grady, James Queay, Oscar Wells, Ethan Green, Kyle Struthers, Jamie Wyndham, William Milham, Joshua Lamb, Rueben Murdoch-North, Christopher Jarvis, Sam Crean, Toby Robson, Oliver Rees, Amun Bains, Evan Stokes, Rhys Johnson
Medway v Rochford and Thurrock
A freezing wind and driving rain greeted Medway at their away fixture against Rochford and hosts Thurrock.
Solid defending from Medway throughout the first half especially from Oscar Wells and Jacob Clayton kept Thurrock pinned back and created a host of opportunities for Medway’s attack and in particular Jack Bloomfield’s who’s pace and agility was too hot for the Thurrock defence to handle as he ran in a first half hat-trick, the Knights defence was just as secure in the second half and two further scores from Sam Crean and Lewis Hollidge rounded off a 5-0 win.
As the weather deteriorated still further Medway defended well against Rochford and two first half tries from Jack Bloomfield and Rhys Johnson gave the Knights a 2-0 lead at half time. Rochford battled back gamely in the second half and in spite of some great defensive tackling from Harry Meadows, Owen Anderson and no less than 3 try saving tackles from Sam Crean, Rochford finally broke through the Knights defence to score. Fortunately directly from the restart Tom Narborough broke straight through the Rochford defence to stop the fight back and secure the 3-1 win.
Medway: Rhys Johnson, Owen Anderson, Tom Narborough, Jack Bloomfield, Harry Meadows, Sam Crean, Jacob Clayton, Oscar Wells, Lewis Hollidge, William Milham, Karl O’Grady, Reuben Murdoch-North, Alex Harris, Evan Stokes.
Medway v Upminster
Medway’s U9 Knights took the whole squad over to Upminster on Sunday and their days performance was very much like the weather beginning fine then deteriorating as the morning went on and Upminster gave the Knights a lesson in rucking.
The Reds began very well bossing their first match throughout and running out comfortable winners by 5-0 with Medway’s tries coming from Oscar Wells, Mattias Carden and an excellent hat-trick from Christopher Jarvis. In the Reds second game Upminster were in determined mood. Although Medway were as strong in the tackle as they’d been in their first match, Upminster were well organised and rucked Medway off the ball recycling possession time and again for their backs, with plenty of ball Upminster finally broke through edging a tight match 1-0.
It was a similar pattern for the Blues, in their first match a determined and dogged defensive display edged a very tight game by the odd score 3-2 with a full length diving tackle in the final minute from Sam Crean topping a great personal performance and securing the victory, Medway’s tries came from Sam Crean (2) and a mazy whole pitch run from Jack Bloomfield. As with the Reds the Blues were met by a far more determined Upminster side in their second match and Upminster organisation was the difference as they secured a 3-1 win with Medway’s only score coming from Sam Crean.
With the weather deteriorating rapidly the two squads pitched their A and B squads against each other and a similar pattern ensued, with Medway being determined and strong in the initial tackle but Upminster being quicker to each breakdown and rucking Medway off the ball again and again That extra possession proved the difference with the home side edging both matches by the same scoreline 2-1. Medway’s tries in these two matches came from, William Milham and Lewis Hollidge.
Medway’s squad: Sam Crean, Ethan Green, Jean-Pascal Carden, Oliver Rees, William Milham, Toby Robson, James Queay, Tom Narborough, Owen Anderson, Amun Bains, Roger Goodall, Karl O’Grady, Jack Bloomfield, Mattias Carden, Alex Harris, Joshua Lamb, Jean-Luc Carden, Christopher Jarvis, Oscar Wells, Reuben Murdoch-North, Jacob Clayton, Aidan Wolfe, Rhys Johnson
Medway v Beccehamians
9 November 2008
The Medway U9s the Knights took 2 teams away to hosts Beccahamians. As always at Beccs a fine training session was followed by two very competitive games.
The Reds took on the hosts A squad and right from the start they knew were in for a tough game. Beccs were big and strong upfront and with a very good rucking game were soon turning over ball after ball. This set the pattern for the match with the home side having the majority of possession and quickly winning back any ball the Reds took into rucks or mauls. Even with all that possession the home side could not find a way through the Reds superb defence and the only score in the first half was a break away try for scum half Sam Crean who broke from the back of the scrum about 15m out and broke 2 tackles to go over in the corner. The second half mirrored the first with the home side having the bulk of possession again and the Reds again refusing to let anyone through their defence. As the game went on the incisive tackling finally broke down the home sides will and mistakes started to creep in, one such occasion leading to an interception from Jack Bloomfield on the halfway line where he went the whole half of the pitch to score the reds second try. A third was added by Sam Crean to complete a 15 - 0 win late on and give the score a one sided look although the game had been a lot closer. I cannot recall a single tackle being missed by Medway in a superbly dogged defencive display.
The Red Knights were:
Tom Narborough, Jack Bloomfield, Rhys Johnson, Mattias Carden, Lewis Hollidge, Oscar Wells, Harry Meadows, Joshua Lamb, Christopher Jarvis, Toby Robson and Sam Crean.
The Yellows put in a very solid performance, running in 6 try’s without reply against Beccahamians B, the key to Medways win was once again their determination in defence, breaking down everything the Beccs attack could through at them. In attack the yellows moved the ball around well, creating a host of chances the first of which was taken by Kyle Struthers when an excellent tackle by hooker Ethan Green saw the ball spill free and Kyle Struthers was on hand to pick it up and run in to score, soon after Reuben Murdoch-North burst through the Beccs defence to add a second before William Milham at scrum half ran the third try in before half time, Medway piled on the pressure in the second half and in their first play prop Jamie Wyndham took route one, crashing his way through the Beccs defence to make it 20-0. Beccehamians tried gamely to respond but they were unable to get around or through the Yellows defensive wall. Late on the Yellows added two further scores through William Milham’s second and just on full time Amun Bains picked up a loose ball to dive over in the corner and secure a 30-0 victory
Yellows - Roger Goodall, Jean Pascal Carden, Jean-luc Carden, William Milham, Amun Bains, Reuben Murdoch-North, Kyle Struthers, Alex Harris, Jamie Wyndham, Ethan Green, Ranjeev Sandhu
Medway v Gravesend and Sidcup
2 November 2008
Medway’s U9s fielded 2 teams in last Sunday’s fixture with Sidcup and hosts Gravesend.
In their first match the Reds penned back the Sidcup defence from the off and built up a 3-0 first half lead with try’s from Lewis Hollidge, Tom Narborough and Sam Crean. The second half was a much tighter affair in which neither side managed to score. In their second fixture the Knights Reds put up an equally strong performance against Gravesend, a try in the first half from Christopher Jarvis and two second half tries from Josh Lamb and Sam Crean, secured a 3-0 victory and two clean sheets for the day.
Reds – Tom Narborough, Jack Bloomfield, Jacob Clayton, Lewis Hollidge, Christopher Jarvis, Oscar Wells, Toby Robson, Jamie Wyndham, Kyle Struthers, Oliver Rees, San Crean, Joshua Lamb
Medway’s Yellows had two very tight matches and were unfortunate to come away with two defeats, in their first match against Gravesend a first half try from Rhys Johnson and a great defensive effort from all the team were not enough as two tries from Gravesend edged this one. In their second match against Sidcup, the Yellows went behind to an early score but a determined Knights fright back led to a score just before half time through Reuben Murdoch-North. 2 quick scores from Sidcup early in the second half built them a comfortable lead, which in spite of a very good try from William Milham, Sidcup held on for a close 3-2 win.
Yellows - Evan Stokes, Karl O’Grady, Roger Goodall, Jean Pascal Carden, Jean-luc Carden, Mattias Carden, William Milham, Amun Bains, Reuben Murdoch-North, Rhys Johnson, James Queay, Owen Anderson
Upminster Festival - Cup Runners-up
19 October 2008
Medway’s U9’s came to within a hair's breadth of winning the Cup as they reached the Upminster Festival Cup Final for the second year running on Sunday.
In their first match against Stanford the forward line of Lewis Hollidge, Oscar Wells and Tom Narborough tackled excellently and recycled possession well for Sam Crean at scrum half and Jack Bloomfield fly half to exploit and create a host of opportunities for themselves and their centre’s Joshua Lamb and Oliver Rees, Medway finally broke the deadlock with a break away from Oliver Rees and his timely pass set Sam Crean away to score in the corner, a great run soon after from Toby Robson secured a 2-O win.
A very capable Chelmsford side were rocked by thumping early tackles from Medway’s defensive line in particular from Jacob Clayton and Harry Meadows, from one such tackle the resulting knock on freed Tom Narborough to break through and dive over in the corner, Medway’s lead was soon doubled via an intelligent play from Sam Crean, seeing early his opportunity he collected his own feed and rolled off the back of the scrum to score. Continued pressure and great tackling in the second half from Mattias Carden and Joshua Lamb in particular secured the victory.
In their next match Medway soon got back into their stride taking the game to Upminster B, solid defending from Medway’s Alex Harris and Rhys Johnson and a big tackle from Ethan Green won possession for Medway which Joshua Lamb took full advantage of to break away and score, two further Medway tries in the second half from Sam Crean and Toby Robson secured a 3-0 win.
The final Group game against Bishops Stortford was a very close affair with neither side being able to cross the line and the draw was enough to see Medway reach the Cup Final as group winners. In the Final, Medway gave their all and battled gamely throughout, Upminster were also up for the game and a slick scissors move saw them take the lead, Medway soon hit back when a determined Jacob Clayton forced his way over to level, both sides exchanged tackles and attacks before Upminster crossed the line just before half time.
The second half was just as close and it took a determined run from the ever dangerous Sam Cream to tie the match once again, unfortunately for Medway with a minute or so to go the Upminster scrum half struck the winning blow by peeling off the back of the scrum to secure a 3-2 win and the Cup.
Medway v Sevenoaks and Tonbridge Juddians
12 October 2008
Medway’s U9 Knights finally got their season underway with a split fixture away to both Sevenoaks and Tonbridge Juddians,
At Sevenoaks the Knights were victorious with a 1-0 win over their hosts. The Knights were on the attack from the off and created chance after chance, throughout the game. Their front line of Lewis Hollidge, Oscar Wells and Tom Narborough tackled gamely throughout and drove the ball forward at every opportunity one such drive early on saw Lewis Hollidge cross the line but the referee disallowed the try. Sam Crean was busy at scrum half putting in several crunching tackles and freeing up the backs at every opportunity fly half Jack Bloomfield took full advantage of one such move breaking through the Sevenoaks defence to score, he also used the ball well all game, releasing his centres, Oliver Rees, Christopher Jarvis and later Ethan Green who created a host of chances for themselves and each other with strong offensive running. In defence the Knights were solid to a man especially out wide, meaning that whenever the Sevenoaks attack managed to move the ball out wide and built an attack they ran into strong hard tackles from the Knights wingers Rhys Johnson, Jacob Clayton and later Mattias Cardon. In short a good morning’s rugby and a winning start to the season.
The Medway Knights that travelled to Tonbridge Juddians had a very successful day indeed. After an initial warm up and skills development session, the Knights played two matches against their hosts. The Knights won both their matches. In the first match, won 5-2, the try scorers were Ranjeev Sandhu, Toby Robson, Kyle Struthers, Rueben Murdoch-North, and Josh Lamb. In the second match, won 3-1, the try scorers were Kyle Struthers and Josh Lamb (2). Throughout both games, the Medway Knights defended well with excellent tackling from Amun Bains, Karl O'Grady and Josh Lamb. Other players contributed with some very good running with the ball, Alex Harris, James Queay, Jean-Luc and Jean-Pascal Carden. An excellent display by all those that played contributed to a great day. The enthusiasm and energy displayed by all the players was well above the standard expected and bodes well for the rest of the season.